December 2007

PROFESSIONALISM AT BONAIRE DIVE & ADVENTURE

Professionalism is number one for Andre Nahr, the owner/manager of Bonaire Dive & Adventure. To further enhance the professionalism of his staff he invited Walt Butch Hendrick and Andrea Zafares of New York based Life Guard Systems (LGS) to Bonaire to enhance the skills of his staff with the LGS Rescue Challenge Program. The mission of the Rescue Challenge Program simply stated is, to make working dive leaders competent, confident and capable in the areas of accident prevention, CPR, First Aid, oxygen administration, field neurological evaluations, and leadership Level Diver Rescue.

In the past Andre invited LGS to Bonaire on a regular basis, asking the other dive shops on Bonaire to send their staff to the courses too. For quite some time Andre wanted to start that practice again. In 2007 he finally found the time and opportunity to do so in cooperation with the Sand Dollar Condominium Resort.

In the first two weeks of December almost everyone of BDA staff refreshed and extended their knowledge and skills in an intensive 4 day program. It started with the Leadership Level Rescue Program, designed for working Dive Guides and Instructors with previous training in rescue. The program covered both common and severe rescue situations using theatrical make-up to make them realistic. The action packed program sharpened the skills of even our very experienced rescue divers! The added insight into accident prevention, diver physiology and patient handling will increase the safety of our guests. It also gave our dive instructors a broader knowledge which will increase the ease, enjoyment and thoroughness of teaching rescue courses.

On the third day the Field Neurological Program started. – This course taught the staff how to recognize the subtle signs of gas bubble injuries and heart attacks. The program covered in depth up to date information on diver physiology, sign/symptom recognition and interview techniques. First they learned when to start asking questions and then what questions to ask!

The last part was a 1⁄2 day Oxygen Administration Program. Now that we managed to get the diver out of the water, we learned what to do next. This program covered the physiological function of oxygen and how to use it. What is a good delivery system? How do we set it up and check it?

After day four, everybody agreed: this program is a must for any diving professional!

Following the completion of the course, Andre organized a celebratory mock rescue drill as part of the certification ceremony. It had nothing to do with the skills taught by Butch and Andrea but it was a lot of fun.

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